Police Misconduct & Civil Rights

Citizens trust law enforcement officers to uphold the law. And, in large part, the law enforcement officers who serve our communities respect the rights of citizens. Unfortunately, there are occasionally officers who abuse their authority by physically and emotionally harming the people they are expected to protect. Fortunately, there are legal remedies for the injuries caused by the misconduct of such offending officers.

Many complaints of police misconduct are ignored as if the victim somehow deserves that fate by being involved with the police in the first place. However, many victims of police misconduct have not, in fact, committed any crime or been arrested. Additionally, even if an arrest is legal, the use of excessive force is not.

Mr. Grenier has handled police misconduct cases throughout the United States. He was lead counsel in the only successful case arising out of the Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999, where he obtained a $1.5 million settlement from the Jefferson County, Colorado Sheriff’s Office due to law enforcement misconduct, which resulted in the tragic death of William “Dave” Sanders, a teacher and coach at Columbine High School. He has also recovered many other six-figure settlements due to police brutality and misconduct. For example, Mr. Grenier obtained a jury verdict of over $98 million – the largest ever in the District of Columbia – on behalf of a family of a man who was beaten to death by non-governmental individuals while attempting to make an undercover drug purchase for the Metropolitan Police Department, whose members promised to protect him throughout the operation. Mr. Grenier also settled a police shooting case against the District of Columbia, where an officer shot and killed a man supposedly wielding a gun toward the officers. Using complicated forensic reconstruction and analysis experts, Mr. Grenier was able to prove that the officer’s version of events was not scientifically or physically possible, causing the District of Columbia government to settle the case for $500,000.00.

He has been interviewed extensively by the media on other cases, including Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.

If you believe that you are a victim of police misconduct, you may be able to file a civil lawsuit. Such lawsuits may include federal and state claims, including actions under Section 1983 of the United States Constitution.